Photovoltaic solar panels, or solar modules, are an increasingly popular means of generating renewable power via the photovoltaic effect. Recently, there has been a wide proliferation of solar projects of all sizes, from small residential installations to large utility scale power production. A major portion of the costs associated with these solar projects comes from the cost of transporting the solar panels from the manufacturer to the project and installing the panels at the project site.
State of the art solar panels may typically include photovoltaic solar cells that may be laminated to sheets of glass and mounted on aluminum frames for structured support. The frames also serve as an attachment point for racking assemblies, but do not typically assist in the generation of electricity. Solar panels mounted on frames are also substantially larger than unmounted solar panels. Mounted solar panels are, therefore, more expensive to transport at least because more shipping containers are required to ship the same number of solar panels.
Another significant cost associated with solar power projects arises from paying a trained installer to set up a racking assembly and attach solar panels to the assembly. Typically, solar panels are attached to a racking assembly using a complicated multi-step process involving grounding conductors and clamps and/or bolts, which incurs significant labor and material cost. Reducing the number of components and labor required to install solar panels can drastically reduce installation costs.
As solar technology continues to grow in popularity there is a need to make the transportation and installation of solar panels easier, cheaper, and safer.